Family: honeysuckles (Caprifoliaceae)
Flowering time: May–June
Size: 1–2 m
Habitat: sunny forests, among shrubs, clearings and forest edges
Downy-leaved honeysuckle (Lonicera xylosteum) is up to 2 m tall, a branched shrub. Young shoots are initially hairy, later they shed the hairs and become woody. Broad-elliptic leaves are densely softly hairy on both sides; below they are lighter green than above. Oppositely arranged, the leaves are entire and short-petioled. Two-lipped, pale yellow flowers are a little over 1 cm long. Two flowers open on a common flowering stalk, which is at most twice as long as the flower. Similarly to the flowers, the fruits also develop in two tight together. The fruit is an attractive, glossy red berry, but beware… the fruits of downy-leaved honeysuckle are poisonous! It grows best in moderately warm places in the shelter of deciduous trees, in partial shade on moist soils.
In Slovenia it is a common and widely distributed species, but avoids the coast and Pomurje.
